Going Electronic #5

Flexibility

A common reaction we hear from people shopping for software is that the program should be flexible enough to let them do things the way they have always done them. Should it?

A good electronic system can dramatically increase efficiency, quality control, and accountability, but using a system requires a slight shift in thinking.

Paper vs. Electronic Processes

If the software offers real-time process control, as WinAir does, then one of the issues that needs to change is the idea of writing things on paper, or recording things in the computer after they have happened.

If your processes are going to remain paper based, you may as well be using an accounting package to track your costs and a word processor to create your work orders. But that won't make you more productive, or help you find all the parts that are unaccounted for at the end of the year when your inventory turns out to be $100,000 smaller than the accountants say it should be.

If the software controls processes and records transaction history, then just about everything that is written on a piece of paper instead of using the computer cripples the process control and renders the history almost useless. For example, if you are short one engine, it doesn't help knowing where the other fourteen went.

If parts used are jotted down on a sticky note instead of issuing them in the computer, there is no way to know where the parts went if the paper stays in somebody's pocket. Good software limits human errors made by recording information on paper:

• WinAir prevents you from issuing a non-existent part number or issuing parts unless you supply a valid work order number. On paper, you can just leave the work order space blank.
• WinAir prevents you from duplicating a work order or purchase order number.
• WinAir prevents you from expensing an item twice.
• WinAir prevents you from installing the wrong part number on an aircraft.

That's not to say you can't fix human errors; there is a big difference between what software should let you do, and what it should not. The secret is striking a balance that controls your processes, but still lets everybody do their job. The companies that make the easiest transition are those that are open minded and willing to embrace positive change.

If you simply cannot accept a system that does not do things exactly the way you want, then you will need to build it yourself. It will take about ten years, and you will need to pay several good programmers who are willing to work with you. When you're done, a lot of your ideas about how things should be done will have changed... and you'll have a new appreciation for how well WinAir works.

The best systems are the ones that have incorporated the best ideas from many environments and many people. That is what WinAir is.